You have no items in your shopping cart.
Product Description
Against the backdrop of modern Korea s violent and tumultuous history, To Kill A Tiger is a searing portrait of a woman and a society in the midst of violent change. Drawing on Korean legend and myth, as well as an Asian woman s unique perspective on the United States, Lee weaves her compelling personal narrative with a collective and accessible history of modern Korea, from Japanese colonialism to war-era comfort women, from the genocide of the Korean War to the government persecution and silence of Cold War-era pogroms. The ritual of storytelling, which she shares with the women of her family, serves as a window into a five-generation family saga, and it is through storytelling that Lee comes to appreciate the sacrifices of her ancestors and her own now American place in her family and society.
In To Kill A Tiger Lee provides a revelatory look at war and modernization in her native country, a story of personal growth, and a tribute to the culture that formed her.
Winner of the ForeWord Book of the Year Bronze Award for Memoir
About the Author
Jid Lee came to the United States as an international student and became a citizen in 1989. She holds degrees in English from Korea University, SUNY Albany, and the University of Kansas. She is the author of the book From the Promised Land to Home and a tenured professor of English at Middle Tennessee State University.
In To Kill A Tiger Lee provides a revelatory look at war and modernization in her native country, a story of personal growth, and a tribute to the culture that formed her.
Winner of the ForeWord Book of the Year Bronze Award for Memoir
About the Author
Jid Lee came to the United States as an international student and became a citizen in 1989. She holds degrees in English from Korea University, SUNY Albany, and the University of Kansas. She is the author of the book From the Promised Land to Home and a tenured professor of English at Middle Tennessee State University.
Praise for TO KILL A TIGER "Part memoir, part social history, To Kill a Tiger seamlessly ties together Jid Lee's moving personal narrative of girlhood in South Korea and the story of Korea's traumatic modern history of division, colonization, and war, and of South Korea's tumultuous road to democracy. Lee's accessible and engaging writing style, combined with her authoritative voice on Korean history and politics, makes To Kill a Tiger an invaluable resource to anyone who wants to know more about the divided Korean peninsula and the United States' role in it. It is a rare treat to read about this era of South Korean history from the perspective of a Korean woman. Through her personal experiences, Lee speaks out against the unjust treatment of women that occurs systematically both in the intimate registers of domestic life and at the level of social administration. The publication of this book is a triumph and a testament to Lee's courage."
-Grace M. Cho, PhD, author of Haunting the Korean Diaspora: Shame, Secrecy, and the Forgotten War
"What a pleasure it was to meet Jid lee in her memoir, To Kill a Tiger, a feisty and courageous woman, born and raised in the country of my birth, Korea. Her personal narrative is compelling and moving. The book shatters all the stereotypical images of Asian women. Most importantly, To Kill a Tiger gives the lie to long-perpetuated accounts of US/Korea and North/South Korea relations. Jid Lee's insights and opinions are refreshing, enlightening and timely."
-Dai Sil Kim-Gibson, filmmaker and author of the documentary and accompanying book, Silence Broken: Korean Comfort Women
“Lee's a fine writer, and she nestles her personal story in a compelling history of post-WWII Korea.” –Maria Browning, Nashville City Paper
“Lee presents us with analyses and divergent points of view regarding the Korean War, the Japanese-American-Korean triangle, and what’s gone on in South and North Korea for the last century. Lee also presents us with a brief history of the Korean Feminist movement, which was a joy to read about…What I applaud is this: It is a story of a tough, feminist kid who goes through hell and emerges victorious against everyone’s expectations. Lee triumphantly gives patriarchy the finger and fulfills her dreams, giving women everywhere—and especially those languishing in a sexist society more oppressive than that of Western culture—hope for everything they wish to accomplish.” – Feminist Review
“The political sundering of Korea by no means was a simple split. To Kill a Tiger is by author Jid Lee's words, not just a memoir of herself, but a memoir of Korea, torn apart by the last six decades of a harsh standoff that started with a vicious war. Looking towards the beginning of the conflict, she focuses on the social change of the time, where in spite of the harsh conflict, people still wanted nothing more out of the world than to simply survive and live their lives. Discussing everything from the Japanese occupation in the first half of the twentieth century and forward, To Kill a Tiger is a fascinating and informative read that should not be ignored.” – Midwest Book Review
“Virtue and morality are strong themes in Lee’s memoir [To Kill a Tiger]…Lee skillfully portrays her struggles to achieve recognition and equality…Lee excels in recounting the horrors of the Korean war.” -- South China Morning Post
“[Korea’s] politics and culture became compelling and real to me as I read this book. Lee places her harsh and impoverished childhood in a national context, writing to rescue herself from a damaging cycle of social and personal tyranny. In the process, her portrait of family and country grows more compassionate and complete… The details are intriguing, the history is important, but it is the tremendous achievement of breaking free that resonates most powerfully” -- Story Circle Book Reviews
-Grace M. Cho, PhD, author of Haunting the Korean Diaspora: Shame, Secrecy, and the Forgotten War
"What a pleasure it was to meet Jid lee in her memoir, To Kill a Tiger, a feisty and courageous woman, born and raised in the country of my birth, Korea. Her personal narrative is compelling and moving. The book shatters all the stereotypical images of Asian women. Most importantly, To Kill a Tiger gives the lie to long-perpetuated accounts of US/Korea and North/South Korea relations. Jid Lee's insights and opinions are refreshing, enlightening and timely."
-Dai Sil Kim-Gibson, filmmaker and author of the documentary and accompanying book, Silence Broken: Korean Comfort Women
“Lee's a fine writer, and she nestles her personal story in a compelling history of post-WWII Korea.” –Maria Browning, Nashville City Paper
“Lee presents us with analyses and divergent points of view regarding the Korean War, the Japanese-American-Korean triangle, and what’s gone on in South and North Korea for the last century. Lee also presents us with a brief history of the Korean Feminist movement, which was a joy to read about…What I applaud is this: It is a story of a tough, feminist kid who goes through hell and emerges victorious against everyone’s expectations. Lee triumphantly gives patriarchy the finger and fulfills her dreams, giving women everywhere—and especially those languishing in a sexist society more oppressive than that of Western culture—hope for everything they wish to accomplish.” – Feminist Review
“The political sundering of Korea by no means was a simple split. To Kill a Tiger is by author Jid Lee's words, not just a memoir of herself, but a memoir of Korea, torn apart by the last six decades of a harsh standoff that started with a vicious war. Looking towards the beginning of the conflict, she focuses on the social change of the time, where in spite of the harsh conflict, people still wanted nothing more out of the world than to simply survive and live their lives. Discussing everything from the Japanese occupation in the first half of the twentieth century and forward, To Kill a Tiger is a fascinating and informative read that should not be ignored.” – Midwest Book Review
“Virtue and morality are strong themes in Lee’s memoir [To Kill a Tiger]…Lee skillfully portrays her struggles to achieve recognition and equality…Lee excels in recounting the horrors of the Korean war.” -- South China Morning Post
“[Korea’s] politics and culture became compelling and real to me as I read this book. Lee places her harsh and impoverished childhood in a national context, writing to rescue herself from a damaging cycle of social and personal tyranny. In the process, her portrait of family and country grows more compassionate and complete… The details are intriguing, the history is important, but it is the tremendous achievement of breaking free that resonates most powerfully” -- Story Circle Book Reviews
Product Tags
Add Your Tags:
Use spaces to separate tags. Use single quotes (') for phrases.
